The present invention is related to Japanese patent application No. Hei. 11-272012, filed Sep. 27, 1999; No. 2000-115432, filed Apr. 17, 2000; the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates generally to an assembly/processing apparatus, and more particularly, to an assembly/processing apparatus for an assembly/processing line having an easily changeable equipment capacity in response to production fluctuation, change of assembly/processing steps or the like.
An assembly/processing apparatus is composed of a series of automated line equipment, which assembles a product with numerous manufacturing steps. As shown in FIG. 11, conventional automated-line equipment 100 is composed of base machines 101-105 for assembling/processing, conveying means 110 such as a belt conveyor, work pallets 120, assembling means 131-135 such as loaders and robots and part suppliers 140. Conveying means 110 conveys parts and work pieces (a main part, to which other parts are assembled and becomes a product) with base machines 101-105.
However, conventional assembly/processing apparatuses have the following problems:
(a) Specialized part supplying devices must be prepared for each part for a specific product change. Therefore, initial setup is complicated, thereby increasing setup time and setup cost.
(b) In general, processing is performed on the front side of the assembly/processing line and part supply is performed on the back side thereof. Therefore, workers are positioned apart, making it difficult to assemble work.
(c) For the assembly/processing apparatus disposed along the assembly/processing line, different equipment is required during manual production time and all automated production time. Therefore, excessive investment is sometimes required.
When there is a change in the layout of the automated line equipment, primary wiring, secondary wiring and piping, fluorescent lamp movement and the like is complicated. Therefore, increased labor and longer manufacturing time is required. Also, because primary and secondary wiring and piping is laid between the base machines and other apparatuses such as the conveyor and fluorescent lamps, when line equipment is moved, the wiring and piping must be newly laid.
In view of these and other drawbacks, the present invention provides an assembly device that does not require a work tray lane and device for transferring the work tray on the conveying means to the work tray lane. In another aspect of the invention, when a work tray reaches a predetermined position on a conveying means, the conveying means is temporarily stopped. Therefore, an industry robot can easily assemble parts on the part tray, located on the part tray lane, to the work piece on the work tray located on the conveying means.
In still another aspect of the invention, the industry robot can perform both functions of the part-tray transfer means and the work-tray transfer means. The part-tray transfer means selectively transfers the part tray from the conveying means to the part tray lane. The work-tray transfer means selectively transfers the work tray from the conveying means to the work tray lane. Therefore, the transfer means is not required.
In another aspect of the invention, a specialized part supplying means is not required to be respectively prepared for each kind of part assembled, and specialized work supplying means is not required to be respectively prepared for each kind of work piece. In the assembly/processing line using this assembly/processing apparatus, the operators for the assembly/processing apparatus can be collectively arranged around the front of the line equipment or the top step thereof, thereby easily reducing loss due to operator arrangement. The work-tray transfer means and a processing apparatus for only processing can be provided around a work tray lane. Accordingly, after the work-tray transfer means transfers a work tray to the processing apparatus and the processing apparatus processes the work piece on the work tray in a predetermined manner, the work-tray transfer means again transfers the work tray to the work tray lane. As a result, various kinds of processing can be sequentially performed with the same equipment.
In another aspect of the invention, the assembling means is an industry robot, and the industry robot shares at least any one of part-tray transfer means and work-tray transfer means.
In another aspect, the width of the part tray and work tray are approximately identical to the width of conveying means. As such, the trays can be easily placed, conveyed and taken out. Large-sized parts can be placed on a work tray together with work pieces. Since only small amounts of large-sized parts can be placed on a part tray, numerous part trays are required by the conveying means, thereby naturally reducing line working-ratio. However, if large-sized parts are placed on a work tray together with work pieces, the line working-ratio increases. Further, the parts, which have numerous special parts and small number parts, require complex control such as a match between a part and a number on a part tray. However, if these parts are respectively placed on each work tray where they are assembled, false assembly or the like can be prevented. Plural part trays can be placed on a tray lane, and plural different parts are assembled on the same assembly/processing apparatus. Accordingly, numerous specialized part-supply apparatuses are not required to be disposed on one assembly/processing apparatus, and one base machine can assemble numerous kinds of parts.
In another aspect, the conveying means includes a primary input apparatus for a power source such as for an electrical system and a plant air system. Wiring and piping are laid along almost the entire length of the conveying means. Further, the conveying means includes secondary output connectors at suitable positions. Therefore, the equipment can be increased or decreased in response to production-amount fluctuation, and primary and secondary wiring and piping can be easily applied after equipment movement. The conveying means can also include beams on which light sources such as fluorescent lamps are disposed. Therefore, the amount of equipment can be easily increased or decreased in response to production-amount fluctuation, and wiring for light sources such as fluorescent lamps can be easily provided after equipment movement. Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.